Stitch remover



y's, 1930. B. M. WHITE 1,770,117

STITCH REMOVER Filed April 24, 1926 INVENTOR Buoo MASON WHITE E wammm "ATT oRNEY 7 Patented July 8, 1930 UNITED STATES BUDD MASON WHITE, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY STITCH REMQVER Application filed April 24,

My invention has special relation to means for removing the mutilated stitches from the welt of a shoe, when it is proposed to substitute a new sole thereon for a sole which has been worn out in service. The usual practice on the part of the workman repairing shoes, is to remove the worn out sole by cutting with a knife the stitches by which the sole is held to the welt, tearing off such worn out sole and then removing the remains of the stitching from the welt as a preliminary to sewing to the welt a fresh sole. The process of picking the threads or stitches from the welt by hand after the old sole has been removed, is timeconsuming and often takes fifteen minutes or more in its accomplishment and is a serious handicap to the quick and efficient repairing of shoes through the application thereto of new soles.

It is the object of my invention to hasten and simplify the removal of the old stitches from the welts by machine operation. Another object is to provide a machine which will smoothly remove the old stitches and threads from the welt. Still another object is to provide a machine for the above purposes which will leave the welt in an excellent condition for a continuation of the repair operation. It is a still further object of my invention to produce a self-contained structure, designed for ready application to and securing upon the end of the ordinary shoe repairing lathe found in most shops where shoe repairing is done. Still another advantage or invention may be adjusted to any thickness of welt, working with equal satisfaction for any of the thicknesses found in practice.

By employing not only a rotary toothed member, but an adjustable spacer, cooperating therewith, a spring between the toothed member and the spacer normally tending to hold the spacer out of contact with the toothed member, and a collar interposed between the spring and the spacer, I have produced a form of device peculiarly adaptable to shoes of different makes and sizes and welts of different thicknesses, such welts being held in such a position with reference to the rotary toothed member as to guarantee a prompt and object of my invention is that the device of my 1926. Serial mi. 104,276.

effective removal of the stitches. With my I apparatus I find that the old stitches and threads may be smoothly removed from the welt in the time that it takes to merely move the edge of the welt continuously around through my device to complete a single circuitof such welt; I find that by using this device it is even possible to largely utilize the old holes, in the application of the new sole.

In'the accompanying sheet of drawings, forming part hereof, Fig. 1 represents the device of my invention mounted upon the end of a lathe-shaft; Fig. 2 shows my device principally in cross-section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of the working face of the rotary toothed member acting 'as the stitch removing element; Fig. 4 shows a section'of my device with a shoewelt-inserted for the removal of the stitches.

In the'above drawings my device is shown as comprising a socket 1 which slips upon the end of the shaft 2 of the lathe, a rotary member 3 having teeth 4, mounted upon the spindle 1 forming part of the socket 1; an adjustable spacer 5' controlled by the nut 8, a spring 6 seated in a recess 6 of the rotary member 3 and a collar 7 interposed between the spring 6 and the spacer 5, having a recess 6 in which the forward end of the spring 6 rests; the several parts 8, 3 and l are held in firm position by the set screws 9, '9 and 9 respectively. These set screws are shown ,as adapted to be actuated by the ordinary key used in shoe repairing machines.

s It will be seen that the teeth 4 on the toothed member 3 have operating edges which are not radially disposed'with reference'to the face upon which the teeth are cut, but are arranged at an angle which may be said to approximate 30 from the radius. It will also be seen that the faces of the teeth are much broader than they are deep, and that they are slightly tapered back from perpendicularity to the longitudinal axis of the device. I have also found it desirable to slightly chamfer the face of the spacer 5 which cooperates with the rotary toothed member so as to make the entrance to the space between 4 and 5 a trifle wider than the space as it recedes toward the interior; the purpose of this is to give a desired gripping effect upon the welt as it is passed through the device, in order that the teeth may have the proper frictional engagement with the stitches to abrade and remove the same. The spacer 5 has an inter-locking projection 5* designed to fit in the keyway 5 of the rotary toothed member3, whereby it is assured that the spacer 5 will rotate with and be rotated by the member 3, at the same speed.

As shown in Fig. 4, the welt 11 of the shoe 10 is inserted between the parts 4 and 5 with the old stitches 12 facing and being acted upon by the teeth 4. As to the proportions of this device, I have found that yery satisfactory 15 results are obtained with a rotary toothed member 2 in diameter, (having 28 teeth which are substantially 3/64ths inches deep. I do not wish tolimitmyself, however, to these specific dimensions, as such dimensions and shapes may be varied without departing from my invention, except as limited by the scope of theappended claims.

What I do claim as fmy-invention is as follows:

, 1. A stitch remover comprising a rotary toothed member, an adjustable spacer cooperating therewith, a spring between the toothed member and the spacer normally tending to hold .the spacer out of contact therewith, and

g3 .a-collar interposed between the spring and the spacer. a

2. A stitch-remover comprising a shaft socket, a rotary toothed member mounted thereon, an adjustable spacer interlocked to the toothed member to rotate therewith, a spring between the toothed member and the spacer normally tending to hold the spacer out of contact therewith, a collar interposed between the spring andthe spacer, and an adjusting memberfor regulating the space {be tween the toothed {member and the spacer.

V 3. A stitch-remover comprising a rotary toothed member, an adjustable spacer cooperating therewith and chamfered so as to taper from its outer periphery toward the inside, so as to assist in making the opening between the rotary member and spacer greater at the periphery than toward'the axis of rotation, a spring between the toothed member and the to spacer normally tending to hold the spacer out .o-fcontact with the toothed member, and a collar interposed between the spring and MAsoN the spacer. 

